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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: rash · pit · chest · cold · file · bear · bat · ruler

  1. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  2. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  3. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  16. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  20. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. The people resisted their cruel ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. bear — to put up with
  3. ruler — for measuring
  4. cold — not warm
  5. chest — of your body
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. chest — a box
  8. rash — a series
  9. pit — a hole
  10. file — a document
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. cold — an illness
  13. file — a tool
  14. bat — the animal
  15. pit — in a race
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. file — a line of people
  19. pit — a fruit stone
  20. bear — the animal
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. chest — of your body
  23. rash — hasty
  24. ruler — a monarch

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com